Celtic Knot
by Midnight Gems
Summary: AU - Relationships are never easy to begin with, but when you have chaos personified in two different beings, it makes things that much harder... KOC, TOC


I gotta say that I was unsure of what Zadien's reaction would be when I asked her if she wanted to write a collab fic, but when she said yes, I was ecstatic. I've looked up to her as a writer for a long time, and working with her is a great honor. We're both taking this as an opportunity to learn from one another, shoot ideas back and forth until we come up with something that is filled with us both in equal amounts. Her story. My story. Our story.

We hope you enjoy our story as much as we do!

Disclaimer: Beyblade and all associated characters and themes belong to Aoki Takao. Amber Benson, the Benson clan, and Ruin belong to Zadien. Riley belongs to Midnight Insanity. The story belongs to us both; Midnight Gems.

Here we go!

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_**Celtic Knot**_

_**1. Piss Off, Pinky**_

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Amber Benson was in hell, or as close to hell as she could possibly get while still being alive. However, if there was a ring in hell especially held just for her, this was it. Though why there were rings in hell, she wasn't quite sure but the whole thing just tied in with how she felt. She was sixteen years old, she'd just been about to do her last year in school, granted she was a little bit young but she'd started the whole school experience at three years old and that was a heck of a long time ago, she was bound to finish early. And for once she'd been looking forward to going back to the hell hole that was Tory Comprehensive, but all that had changed one afternoon after she arrived home from helping out at her neighbor's farm, -they were dipping sheep and all the younger men were minus their shirts, it was very fun for her- to find that her Father wished for her to go live with him. The whole thing felt majorly screwy to her. A father she'd barely seen much of her life -apart from once a year- because he'd wanted to make his place in America and get more money, a father who'd left her with her grandmother ever since her own mother had died shortly after Amber was born, a father who'd never wanted her before. And now he did.

Maybe daughters had become fashionable or something. She didn't know, she wasn't a very fashion conscious person. As long as she was comfortable in the outfit and as long as it wasn't a skirt, she was quite happy. She'd never been one for accessorizing, but maybe her dad was, and the latest state of the art accessory to secure your promotion was a daughter...

She frowned and jerked a shoulder in response to her theory. She didn't find it highly odd that she was having a monologue with herself and she wasn't expecting to lose this endearing trait anytime soon. In fact she was probably going to be the only company she had for the foreseeable future.

She bit her lip. Were the Irish cool or not cool over here? There had been a phase the Americans went through where they liked the Irish, the Irish on the other hand had so far not reached this level of evolution where they could like someone different from them. A smirk played on her lips. She was so typical, she could bad mouth Ireland all _she_ wanted but if someone else did, she'd get all fired up to defend a country that wasn't even a country but a tiny little island with a couple of Tescos, Dunnes and Halifaxes thrown in for good measure.

Raking a hand through her silk black hair, she scanned the overly busy airport terminal with the broad sound of the American drawl buzzing in her ears as background music. They spoke so slowly here, as though they expected everyone to patiently wait for them to finish each sentence. You couldn't do that in Ireland. You had to get everything out in a rush before you were shot in the back, or that's how she liked to see it. Everyone talked over each other, effectively cutting off their friend's story a quarter way through to tell them of something similar that happened years ago and in the end, they never actually finished any points and always circled round to finish where they began.

It was a constant amusement to her to see how various societies worked, but she'd never intended to have first hand experience. Sure she'd travel the world someday, but when she was older! She was still young yet; she had no plans to die of airplane peanuts or that airplane disease that caused blood clots because you spent too long in coach! Deep vein thrombosis? Oh it was something along those lines, she surmised.

The PA echoed above her and was cut off abruptly by static while a mother tried to soothe her snot-nosed wailing brats. Things like this made Amber glad she was in no way maternal. God, her and children, they'd all end up whining for attention. Though naturally she'd win having been practicing so much longer than the children.

Her ochre eyes scanned the check-in boards over head and she wondered what her father would say if she used his credit card numbery thing he'd made sure to give her in case of emergencies or something to buy a ticket to Zimbabwe or somewhere like that. He probably wouldn't be too pleased, but it would be amusing for the airplane trip, though the mosquitoes and other creatures there would probably freak her out.

My god, she exclaimed mentally, what kind of spiders did they have over here? They did everything in XL sizes over here, didn't they? Or so she'd heard on the news or some other current affair show her uncle Rory had decided to watch in efforts to make her appetite disappear.

"I got the car!"

She yelped and spun round at the deep soft voice that reverberated in her ears. She exhaled heavily, then raised a brow at her cousin Bryan who'd been sent to fetch her effectively ruining her trip to Zimbabwe idea. "Goodie, now comes the important part, where is it?"

He held up a rather large hand and jangled the keys that seemed to be dwarfed. "Come on, let's go."

"Hold up, I don't have the bags and shit."

Bryan Malkovich raised a brow, imitating his cousin easily if not better. After all, who else would have taught her such a cool look that could say so much without ever voicing a word, though she hadn't seemed to comprehend that no words were needed with the look. "What did I say while I went to get the car keys?"

"Um, something about something and don't something?" she tried a winsome smile that faltered when he didn't react, failing that, she thrust out her lower lip and tried the pout.

"Can it." he snapped, the claustrophobia of the airport was crowding in around him, all these people, all this noise, all these smells of people, it was making him nauseous and ill tempered. More so than usual.

"Hey don't worry, I can always just max out Daddy's credit card and buy us new things." she flaunted, waving the credit card in front of him. His eyes didn't lighten in amusement; instead his fingers whipped out and stole the card from her. "Oh poopy." she mumbled.

This time, his lips quirked. His cousin had been banned from saying most curse words by their grandmother and she was still in the habit of using her made up curse words. He figured she'd fall into her potty mouth phase pretty fast when they got home, after all the word shit was never far from the tip of her tongue. "Let's get our stuff."

"Right on brother."

He arched a brow and looked at her. "What, I was just getting into the character! I'm trying to be Americanized."

"Don't." was the only reply she got.

Squinting her eyes, she did her best imitation of a hateful glare and stuck out her tongue at his back, causing a few people to shoot curious looks her way. "What?" she demanded, fisting her hands on her hips in a challenging manner before following her tense cousin. "Sure you're all allowed to be megalomaniacs but if an Irish person does, you think I'm strange. Huh. Racists!"

"Brat quit whining and start moving."

"Shit, that was so American. You're such a yank."

"Yankee." he corrected with a roll of his iced lavender eyes.

"Whatever, potatoe, potato or something like that." she replied breezily.

Bryan shook his head. Now this was going to be one of those long, long, long days. He could just feel it and it was just going to get worse.

0-0-0

The town of Bakuten was known for its sleepy seaside look but in reality, in summer it was a bustling tourist village that was brimming with life and laughter. Or so the brochure said, there wasn't much laughter going on in Tala Valkov's opinion and judging by the lazy lack luster postures of the inhabitants of the Friars Rest, he wasn't seeing much life either.

He stifled a yawn and regarded his two best friends who were sitting opposite him around the round table, suitably dubbed by Riley Hiwatari in one of her more imaginative days. He lifted his fingers and began to push the straw around in the tall milkshake glass, watching as the thick lemon liquid made only the barest sluggish movement. Even the milkshake was tired. He groaned and leaned back in his chair, which was digging into his back. Families out for a daytrip took up all the booths and they were all mopping up after their children who were now filled with food and were sleepy while the parents just wanted to have the day over and done with.

The heat outside was stifling. It was one of the reasons he'd entered the Friars Rest in the hopes that the AC would help improve his mood but it hadn't, though the cool air was a relief. It was just one of those murky days and it wouldn't liven up until the night hit when it was cool enough to move. Though why the town was suffering from such heat was unimaginable. Yes it was summer, but it was never this unbearably hot. He put it down to a heat wave; Ruin put it down to global warming which she said he wasn't helping every time he opened his mouth. God, the heat just made some people bitchy and since Ruin was already termed a bitch, it just made her ten times worse. Not that he'd say that. Tala, the King of Cool, was not getting his ass kicked by a PMSing woman. It was bad enough they had to endure her bitchiness once every month, but that week had already passed and they were just being punished.

The 'they' he referred to was himself and Kai Hiwatari. They were the two that were around Ruin the most or bore the brunt of her dark morbid looks the most. The other boys who knew her were well capable of staying out of her way when the mood took her, which it often did in unforeseen ways. He figured the reason he put up with Ruin was because he was a glutton for punishment, but he doubted Kai couldn't claim the same.

"Damn, it's bitchin' hot!" He finally voiced his complaint and caused Kai to look at him.

The two toned bluenette didn't even have enough energy to lift a brow at his friend. Instead he slouched farther down in his chair and sighed heavily. Idly he reached over and lifted a laminated menu and began to lightly fan himself, being careful that in no one's eyes would he look gay.

"We need to do something or we'll roast."

"Shut up Valkov." Kai grumbled. "Is the AC off?"

Tala looked round over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of Kai's little sister kicking butt over at the Foosball table. "How can she have so much energy?"

Finally Ruin opened her eyes and followed his gaze, her expression blank. A flush had worked its way along her cheekbones, adding color to her usual pale complexion. "She's young."

Kai snorted. "You make it sound like we're bordering on retirement age. She's two years younger than us."

"Sweet sixteen." Tala chimed in. "Has she ever been kissed?"

Kai growled low in his throat. "Back off that topic Valkov if you value your teeth."

The redhead ran his tongue over said teeth and grimaced thoughtfully. He looked quickly at the dark haired female, hoping she could salvage this moment and with an exaggerated sigh, Ruin rolled her eyes and complied. "We can't stay here all day."

"I guess we could head back to my place, at least the pool will be cool."

"Sounds good to me." Tala answered, sipping his lukewarm milkshake lethargically.

"Round up Riley." Ruin ordered and Kai growled and unfolded himself from his seat, running a hand through his thick silken crop of hair. He stalked over to his younger sister (though not biologically).

The silver haired girl was frowning, her brow furrowed over violet eyes, her mouth in a firm line as her hands yanked and jerked on the small handles sticking out of the table. Catching sight of the teen opposite her made Kai grind his teeth. Mystel Dakarai seemed to constantly be around his sister these days, but it wasn't something Kai had to worry about, he supposed, after all Riley had shown no interest in Mystel as it was. In fact the only thing the blond served to do was to annoy his sister to a point where she was growling and spitting at him while he laughed good-naturedly. Mystel just wound both Hiwataris up the wrong way at times with his constant good outlook on life.

"Riley we're heading home." he said in his no-nonsense big brother tone of voice.

"In a minute." Riley shot back, giving her handle a vicious twirl, sending the ball home into Mystel's nets. "One more goal and I win."

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch." Mystel quipped methodically tapping the ball back down to her side of the pitch.

Riley rolled her eyes to her brother and smirked. Then with a deft twist, the ball shot into Mystel's net once again. She grinned and pushed away from the table. Snatching the money from the edge of the table she chuckled at Mystel's groan and headed off to her brother, grinning inwardly when she became aware of Mystel watching her. There was no way he was going to get his money back from her, she was going to use it to buy whatever she wanted.

"You conned Mystel again?"

She gave a gallant shrug. "He's an easy target, keeps me in the black." she smiled syrupy sweet. Whenever she ran out of cash all she had to do was hit up Mystel for it, the guy was always up for one of her wagers knowing he'd probably never succeed in beating her but the guy lived in perpetual hope. He was naïve in that way however no matter how much he pissed her off by never getting agitated by her, she still had yet to beat the crap out of him. It would be unfair, she reasoned, after all he wouldn't hit back. There was a certain frustration to him being so gentlemanly. With a shake of her head, she focused her attention back on her brother.

"So why are we heading home?"

Kai imitated her shrug and headed to join Ruin and Tala as they stood by the door waiting for them to catch up.

Riley grumbled, punching Tala's arm for good measure. The redhead curiously raised a brow at her and rolled his eyes when she shrugged. She constantly seemed to take her aggravation out on him and her reasoning for this was that 'he was there'. And it wasn't as though he could make a fuss about it and risk being called a girl by Ruin so he put up with it, but he'd get revenge later. An impromptu swim might help her cool off. He grinned while she narrowed her eyes sensing he was up to something.

0-0-0

A good ten minutes later, Ruin and Tala were lounging around in the pool. Neither had headed home for swim clothes. There was no point, they were well used to each other at this stage having been friends for longer than either cared to remember. So they'd stripped down to underwear and had immediately submerged themselves in the cool turquoise water of the Hiwatari's pool. Both proprietors of the pool were inside the two-story house at the right end of the pool. Kai said he wasn't ruining his Calvin Klein's with chlorine water so he'd headed in to fetch a pair of swim shorts. Riley had tagged along and for a few minutes the pair in the pool had listened amused as the elder teen yelled for his sister to get out so he could get changed.

Ruin trailed her hand through the cool, crystal clear water, her eyes gazing off into the distance. She looked peaceful and tranquil as the water lapped at the cleavage of her generous creamy breasts. Across the pool Tala observed her lazily, tracing the aristocratic nose and the sculpted cheekbones, the arched brow and the full pouty mouth, down the slender lily-white neck to the fluid sweep of her shoulders. The rest of her was lost beneath the blue water that echoed his eyes.

"It suits, your hair up like that." he blurted out suddenly and cursed himself. He always tended to lose his cool around the ice maiden. Ruin was the epitome of control but someday he'd make her lose all that cool and he'd be renowned for it, should he choose to share his private victory.

With an arch of a slender brow, Ruin opened her dark, dark chocolate eyes. Sometimes he could swear they were bitter but there was a warmth under that hard coating that she couldn't quite conceal from him. A vulnerability he had yet to reveal to her. Without a word but instead a deep breath, she pushed a short strand of hair away from where it had fallen casually into her right eye. A subtle tilt of her face and the sun swept over it, casting part of it into shadows. It made half of it sharp and the other soft, an erotic contrast.

He slouched farther into the water, his pale arms stretched out over the side. "I'm going to get burned." he suddenly spoke up with a trace of anger.

Rolling her eyes, Ruin lifted her bag and produced a high factor sun cream. Who the hell would take care of him whenever he left for college? "Come over here." she ordered, hitching herself out of the water to sit on the edge, her eyes lifting to the house looking down upon them. Riley could be seen singing to the music on the radio inside as she prepared herself a drink.

The water sloshed against the edge as Tala glided over to her, coming to rest between her legs. "Need me to get out?" he asked, looking up and shielding his gaze from the sun. With her entire face in shadow, she could observe him without him seeing a single expression that flickered through her gaze.

"No." she replied. "I'm only doing your shoulders and back, you can do the rest yourself when you get out of the water."

"Are you kidding? I'm not leaving this heaven."

She snorted pouring the cream onto her palm and rubbing her hands together, she began to smooth her slicked palms over his broad shoulders feeling the subtle yet strong muscles underneath the smooth warm skin. She tried to ignore how they tensed and contracted at her touch, to concentrate on just helping out a friend and not a perfect male specimen. It was a wonder to her at how he could stay so snowy white. Even with his vibrant blood red hair, which looked as soft as silk, he didn't inherit the usual freckles that redheads seemed to be cursed with. He had no blemishes on his skin, except for the small mole on his left shoulder blade. It looked almost black against the translucent skin. Odd days when faced with his back, she found herself wondering how he'd react to her tongue swirling round it, then she'd remind herself that it was Tala and that he'd probably be flattered and his head would swell. He would no longer be Tala her friend, but an egomaniac male.

She ran her thumbs firmly down the dip of his spine between his shoulder blades before flexing her fingers on the curve of his shoulders. She smirked at his hum of appreciation, then feeling daring, she leaned forward until her nose brushed the shell of his ear. She felt him tense and his breathing shorten. "You're going to have to do my back next." she murmured.

He growled his agreement, and her smug pleasure heightened when he trembled oh so subtly when her fingers skimmed over the responsive flesh of his neck. His hands slid up her calves, his warm fingers feeling strange against the cool underside of her leg. Then she was flipped into the water. She surfaced, furiously swiping her hair out of her eyes, water rivulets running down her face, smearing her dark makeup that was waterproof up to a point. She snarled, temper spiking in dark rimmed eyes.

"Play nice Ruin." Tala ordered with a bite to his words and left her feeling small.

She'd deliberately tried to play with him, she realized with an increasing feeling of self-loathing. Knowing this, she curbed her anger and swam to the edge making a mental note to apologize for her actions just as Riley walked out sipping her drink. She raised a silver brow at the gothic girl.

"You're wet." she said simply, dropping into a deck chair and curling her legs up under her.

Ruin shot her a deadpan look. "Really, I didn't notice." she muttered getting out and walking to fetch her towel, acknowledging Kai with a nod as he emerged with his CD player in his hand.

The twin azure haired teen looked between his male and female friend and sensed the immediate sexual tension and wondered at it. Something had happened when he had been gone but it was none of his business. So he said nothing and dropped down beside his sister, offering her the sunscreen before physically making her take it when she refused it the first time.

He looked up when he heard a car roar up into the drive in front of the house next door with whom his family shared the backyard. James Benson and his nephew lived in the house, it was the ultimate bachelor pad and Kai never failed to take advantage of his godfather living next door when he wanted to get away from his own home. He figured the car belonged to Bryan so thought no more on it. Bryan was a very introverted man who never seemed to have many friends and there was good reason. He didn't reach out for friends and intimidated all those who even tried to get close. The closest he did have to a friend was Spencer Kaminov, but despite that Kai had never had any problems with the burly young man.

It had to be Bryan, he surmised, James would still be at his office where he worked as a corporate lawyer for Kai and Riley's grandfather Voltaire at times. So thinking no more of it, he turned on the CD Player and listened to System as it screamed out.

0-0-0

Amber looked round the house and grimaced. This was a man's house. There was a large entertainment center in the corner of the front room she was standing in, a wide screen plasma TV, black leather couch and recliner armchairs. No pictures or anything homey. Car and sports magazines and the like littered the small coffee table that had been decorated with a fine layer of dust. The floor looked in need of a vacuuming and the plain white walls were so very bland.

"My dad voluntarily lives here?" she asked out loud sensing Bryan behind her.

He leaned on the doorframe and looked around. "Yeah."

"Oh goodie. Why doesn't he not just live in an apartment, why a house?"

Bryan shrugged elegantly, quite a feat. "His choice."

"I guess." she finally turned to her cousin and reading her like a book, he opened his arms and she stepped into them. "I don't think I like it here." she suddenly spoke, her words muffled by his chest.

Bryan didn't reply, just stroked his large palm down her hair cradling her fragile frame.

"What if no one likes me? I'll have no friends. I don't want to be here. I never wanted to come in the first place." she groaned and bit her lip, hardening her resolve. "Sorry, I'm being whiney."

"Hn."

She pulled away and sucked in a breath before blowing it out. "Well, where's my room gonna be?"

He placed an arm round her and guided her up the stairs. She took in the mint green hall with mulberry paintwork and grimaced. The decor wasn't very... it just wasn't home. Home where Nana had photos of just about everyone laughing and smiling placed in every nook, hole and cranny she could find. It was like living in a cheerier Hogwarts minus the moving.

He took her along the landing to the very last room on the north side of the house overlooking the sea in the distance. "Here." he said finally.

She looked at the door and groaned. She opened the door and peeked inside, cringing violently. "Pink?"

Bryan pressed his lips together. "Yeah."

"Oh fuck that!" she growled.

"And there she blows." he murmured under breath as the profanity spewed out of her mouth as though it carried a weight of its own.

She stormed into the room and looked round. It was basically modeled on the room that she'd had when she was 10 years old only she hadn't had pink that time, she recalled. She'd never had pink unless it was that time when she was 6 and Seth decorated her room with 'My little pony' wallpaper because she'd been infatuated with horses. But this was pink! Thankfully it wasn't Barbie pink because that would have seared her eyes if that had been the case, no this was pale pastel pink walls with hot pink curtains and frosted pink furniture. She felt as though she'd just stepped into a little princess's room. There was a ballerina on the windowsill and...

"It's hideous!" she exclaimed vehemently.

She yanked the wardrobe open and sighed in relief when she saw that the clothes that had been sent ahead of her had arrived safely and were placed in there. Her eyes widened in horror as she whipped round to the chest of drawers and jerking it out she cringed.

"He unpacked my underwear? Is nothing sacred?" she whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut before sighing heavily. "I knew I should have kept my clothes with me. But Rory wanted me to pack light." she looked round the room and noticed her computer set up on a desk in the corner. There was a TV/DVD combo. She had brought her DVDs on this trip. Her Playstation2 sat on its stage, and her CD player. She nodded satisfied then a very big missing thing hit her. "Where are my books?"

Bryan frowned. "I think they're still packed."

"Where?" the floor was clean, in fact she could even see the carpet but that wouldn't last for long.

"In the study downstairs."

"Well they're not staying there. I want them in my room where I can read them whenever I want." she grouched. "And I'm going to need to decorate this room because pink and me... No way in hell." she felt like crying. Something she hadn't done in a very long time but the pink was hurting her eyes, or so she decided. "Um, where's the bathroom?"

Bryan pointed it out for her and she headed for it. As soon as she was locked away in the sanctuary of the cool blue room with a mosaic on the shower wall of all things! She rolled her eyes at her reflection in the mirror. "Oh god Dad what kind of man are you?"

Now she thought about it, she didn't really know her father all that well. He'd visited her over the past 16 years of her life, naturally. And she liked him, he was fun and she could talk to him but she shared no real bond with him. He was like an uncle who came to visit every so often and brought her inappropriate presents. But he wasn't a dad, not in the sense she had come to know from her friends' stories about Dads. They were supposed to complain about what you wore and dislike you playing your music up loud and ground you. Her dad did none of the above.

She twisted on the cold tap and watched as the water sloshed into the white enamel sink. Opening the cupboard behind the mirror, she looked at the various bottles inside. You could tell a lot about someone from their bathroom cabinet. Her father liked 'Lynx'... She sniffed it experimentally and decided it wasn't too bad. He had some very expensive aftershave and moisturizer balm... Her dad was a metro sexual... or something similar. He had a very cool looking shaver, and he flossed. And he... had sex! She gaped at the box of condoms, then she peeked at it curiously. Inventive sex too because they weren't good old normal condoms. She peeked inside. And he had it regularly. Not only was this half used but there were another two boxes inside. Maybe her dad bought them in stock. She snickered then balked closing the door abruptly enough that it shook and something inside fell.

She turned off the water and splashed her flushed cheeks. It was so hot in here or was it just her. She groaned, unused to such heat. In Ireland they just had mild weather, nothing like these extremes. Crossing to the window, she opened it and hung her head outside.

It shot up when she heard a scream followed by very inventive threats and expletives coming from a young female. She looked down at the four teens sitting by the pool in her backyard. Well she figured it was her backyard, it was at the back of her Dad's house. Then a thought hit her, if it was her backyard that meant she had a pool. Cool!

Another scream burst out through the stream of music, and Amber turned her attention back to the four. The two males were holding a silver haired girl between them and were both swinging her over the pool while the other girl watched them without much of an expression. Above them behind the shield of the frosted glass, she watched with the hint of a smile as the silver haired girl flew through the air before hitting the surface of the water with a splash. Both boys jumped in after her, high-fiving as they surfaced only for the redhead to have to beat off the girl as she attacked. The bluenette laughed richly as he crossed to the ladder and rose out of the water.

Amber watched him with a dry mouth. He was undeniably handsome with the short navy hair and the longer slate blue bangs that fell into a strongly masculine face. His full mouth tilted into a smirk. His pale skin glistened in the sun as it caught the droplets rolling down the firm chest and the six pack... He had a six pack, not many guys in Ireland that she knew had six packs. Two packs, sure, but six packs no. She turned back to the boy. His swim shorts hung low on his hips and were dragged down by the weight of the water that dripped down and rolled down over strong legs. She bit her lip feeling a strange but not entirely unwelcome warmth beginning to roll through her to pool deep down inside.

She swallowed in reaction then her eyes widened to the point that she was gawking at the tattoo on his shoulder blade. The tattoo was of some kind of red bird with large wings cloaking its body and it stood out in vibrant contrast to his pale and smooth back.

"Amber?"

She started back in surprise and snapped her gaze to the locked door where Bryan's voice had come from. She scrambled to her feet, closing the window and wincing when it shut with an audible bang. Well there went stealth, now pride would soon follow it, she thought with a grimace. She crossed to the door and unlocking it, she stepped outside. "Who's outside?" she demanded not wasting any time.

Bryan raised a brow, then pushed past her to head to the bathroom window. Before he could, she grabbed his hand. "You can look later." she snapped.

He frowned, then shrugged. "Probably the Hiwataris." he said.

"How many of them are there?"

"How many were out there?"

"Four. Two males and two females."

"The other two are probably Tala and Ruin."

"Tala?" something bothered her about that name. She'd once known a Tala but the odds of it being the same guy was slim to zero but to clear that issue up she asked. "What's his last name?"

"Valkov." he answered, running a hand over his jaw.

"Tala Valkov." she repeated softly. What were the odds of him having the same name as her childhood buddy? She frowned, trying to remember him. Red hair, well her Tala had red hair too. She couldn't remember his eyes, just the hair and that he was pale. Two out of three worked for her. Her Tala had been pale and had red hair.

Pondering this, she wandered blindly down the stairs and into the kitchen.

0-0-0

Tala flicked the volume on the stereo and his pet sound for the week 'Rise Against' blasted out. He watched as Riley exacted her revenge on Kai by attempting to humiliate him while Ruin lazily watched them bemused.

"Tala? Holy Crap, it _is_ you!"

He startled surprised and whirled round at the unfamiliar feminine voice called out over the music. The next thing he knew, a force collided with him forcing him back a step before his brain engaged and processed that fact that there was a dark-haired, slender girl pressed against him. He looked for Ruin to help him but she barely smothered at smirk at his silent plea. Riley had turned her attention immediately away from Kai and to the invader of her territory.

The music continued to scream out not reacting to their emotions. The girl soon detangled herself from him much to his relief, he didn't want to be rude and shove her off, but if worse had come to worse, then that's exactly what he would have done. Thankfully the girl seemed to have come to her senses. He knew he was attractive, heck that wasn't even him being big headed, it was just plain truth but he'd never had a girl physically throw herself at him, unless it was Riley but that was usually accompanied with some sort of volatile reaction.

She, the girl, looked up at him and smiled warmly. "Hey Bro, long time no see, huh?" she inquired with a secretive glint in her ochre eyes.

Ruin and Kai exchanged glances, Brother? But their looks didn't phase Tala as he stared down at the girl, recognition flooding his being. It had been the smile that did it. It curled, literally from one corner to the other subtly until you were hit by the full blast of it and it lit up her entire pretty face.

"Amber?" when she finally nodded, he grinned unsure whether to hug her or shake her hand. So he settled for a shocked, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh I'm planning on becoming your official stalker, what do you think ya big lug?" she batted him up the side of the head and he winced much like he had when he'd been ten. "I moved here!"

"Shit." it was the safest thing he could think up to say. For the first decade of his life, Amber had been his life and vice versa. His reason for waking up in the morning was to go find her and do something fun. They'd always found something fun, whether it was hunting for tadpoles or riding their brakeless bikes down 'wankers hill', they'd always had fun. Then he'd experienced his first heartbreak when his mother had announced her intentions to move overseas which would mean leaving Amber behind. At ten he hadn't quite understood the implications of this, he'd figured he'd be able to visit or she'd be able to visit him whenever they had holidays, unfortunately life hadn't worked out quite so well and they'd lost touch. A part of him still mourned losing her friendship but he had moved on and found other friends. And now here she was standing before him, as bold as brass. To say he was overwhelmed was an understatement.

The trio standing by the pool watched on as Tala embraced the girl tightly and she seemed only too happy to reciprocate the hug. Ruin rubbed her sternum, feeling a heat settling right there that she couldn't quite soothe as she looked on. Who the hell was the exotic nymphet? An old girlfriend of Tala's? She didn't think she knew the girl and she usually had the displeasure of meeting his latest conquest. She looked at Kai who just shrugged, equally as bewildered.

Riley struggled to make heads or tails of what she was witnessing. She didn't recall Tala ever mentioning anything about a sister called Amber and the girl seemed very friendly with him. In fact Riley didn't recall ever seeing the girl before so who the hell was she and what was she doing in her backyard? She stepped forward about to confront the girl and get her answers but Kai's hand was on her shoulder immediately giving her a silent warning to leave it be. Hm, typical Kai. He liked to sit back and let things play out, she preferred the more proactive response. But she'd play it his way just this once.

"Who the hell are you?" Or maybe not.

Amber jerked out of Tala's arms and looked around. Her gaze landed on the silver haired girl, her hands fisted on her hips. She blinked and frowned, and flicked her gaze back to Tala, seeking some reassurance on what she should do.

"Hey, I asked you a question! Who are you and what are you doing on my property?"

"Your property?" The Irish girl demanded.

"Yes, that's my house over there." she pointed to the house on the other side of the pool.

Amber smirked and jerked a thumb behind her. "That's my Dad's."

"James doesn't have any children."

"Actually he does, a daughter." Kai interjected quietly while Amber smirked triumphantly.

Riley silently cursed her brother for her not knowing that vital piece of information. All the same. "Even if you are James's daughter, this is a private party."

The 'piss off' message was clear and had Amber bristling. She'd come out because she saw an old friend and also because she'd seen people of her own age. A social creature at heart, no matter what she said, Amber liked to have people around her and this girl was being a bitch for no reason.

"You know what, I'm really not in a party mood anyway." she said softly, her voice sounding as though she'd only just woken up. She turned and headed into the house.

"Amber-" She looked around at Tala's voice, studiously looking away from the others in case she saw pity in their eyes. Her pride and ego were bruised enough, she didn't need any more. "I'll phone you later or something. Catch up on things, ok?"

She nodded gratefully. "Sure, thanks." She headed into the house leaving them outside, the mood changing drastically.

Kai frowned at his sister. "Riley."

Riley arched a brow at his admonishing tone. She'd have at least figured Kai would be happy to get rid of the party crasher, but no, he was pissed at her. With a scowl, she headed into the house deciding she just wasn't in the mood to party with them any more. She ignored the sting of Kai's reaction, deciding that when he came to his senses he could come to her.

0-0-0

The rest of the day passed reasonably fast. One good thing about America, that Amber had so far noticed, was that they had all the good shows before Ireland got them if Ireland ever got them. Right now, she was getting acquainted with a show her friends from America had told her about on MSN. She had to admit, they had damn good taste.

So here she was on the living room couch that creaked and groaned every time she shifted. Bryan was reading in the corner, some poet she'd heard of vaguely but never invested the time to get to know well. The scene was almost domestic. Almost. Her stomach still hopped nervously when she thought back on her earlier encounter with her neighbor. Now she was wondering if Tala would phone her later. Maybe the girl was getting rid of her for Tala. Tala might not be the same boy she remembered.

She shifted and grimaced as she had to peel her back off the leather cover. Despite the AC being on and Bryan looking as cool as a cucumber, she was absolutely sweltering with the heat. She sighed heavily and lifted a magazine to fan herself lethargically.

"I'm melting." she whined, trying to fill the silence.

Bryan grunted but didn't acknowledge her.

"Look there's a wet patch on the leather sofa because I'm melting!"

He rolled his eyes, still not removing it from the page before him. Before she could come up with anything stranger than that last comment, the front door opened and James stepped into the hall behind them, leaving his brief case by the hat stand that no one used.

"Bryan." he greeted coming to stand in the doorway. "Where's Amber?" he asked softly.

Bryan inclined his head to where his cousin lounged out on the sofa before him.

Amber rolled her eyes and with an exaggerated groan, got to her feet. "I'm your daughter in case you forgot what I look like since you haven't seen me in such a long time."

James raked a hand through silk black hair, much like his daughter's and exhaled softly. "I'm glad you got here safely."

"So am I. I mean the kidnapping wasn't all that serious or anything and they did feed me, so that wasn't too bad. And the terrorists on the plane were rather polite despite shooting people randomly and what with the IRA actually demanding for me not to go to America, I'm quite pleased at how safe I am."

He arched a brow. He'd forgotten how wry Amber's sense of humor could be. He could quite easily read in between the lines that she was pissed off with him. "Have you eaten yet?"

"No, we like to be civil in this house and eat all together so we can catch up on each other's day, since we might not see each other for another year." Amber said in her best 'cheerful housewife' tone.

Bryan's lips quivered but he hid his reaction behind the book. This was a matter to be sorted out between the two Bensons.

"Would you like me to make something and then we can discuss your living here?" James asked heading into the kitchen while listening out for his daughters' answer.

"Aye grand, suit yourself." she drawled, switching off the TV and following her father into the brightly lit kitchen where the sun was streaming in and illuminating her father as he stood by the sink looking out the window while washing his hands. She hoisted herself up onto the counter and regarded him. She'd gotten her lean build from him, but his shoulders were broad, and led to a trim waist, narrow hips and long legs. She'd gotten her height and coloring from her mother. Her father had cornflower blue eyes that glinted with intelligence and cunning. His skin was bronzed from the years in the sun since America got more sun than Ireland ever did. He looked good, she was pleased to see and she could understand why her mother had fallen for him, looks wise, personality wise was testy at best.

"So why am I here? Nana said you had to explain yourself because she wasn't smoothing the way between me and you no more because you're a lousy father."

James hissed. He could well hear his mother saying something like that. She wasn't one to try and ease things between he and his daughter because she felt very strongly about him leaving Amber. But he wanted a good life for Amber. He couldn't provide for her if he had to stay at home with her. Leaving was the only way to make sure she would have a good life and go to a good college. Ireland didn't have the same opportunities that America did and he wondered if he'd be able to convince his daughter to see this for herself. He'd never wanted to leave her. He'd loved Treasa with all his heart and sometimes it was painful to look at his daughter when she'd taken so much from Treasa but that didn't negate the fact that Amber was his one and only child.

"Bryan didn't tell you?"

Amber smirked at her father's hopeful tone. "Nope. Nana threatened him with the potato peeler if he said anything. Looks like you're on your own, old man." he shot her a pained look but she simply lifted the carrot he'd placed out on the counter and bit into it, listening to it as it snapped jovially. "So why am I here? Because you can barely stand to be in the same country with me most of the time and now you suddenly want me your life." the smile was gone, replaced by a dark look.

He froze and with a slump of his shoulders, he laid the knife he was slicing the carrots with down. He turned to her and read the pain in her whiskey eyes. "Amber..." he trailed off with a sigh. Hitching himself up beside her, he wrapped an arm loosely around her shoulders. "It's not that I never wanted you in my life. You're my daughter, nothing can or will change that. I had to make a life for us here. Ireland was stifling me but I couldn't risk taking you to America if I couldn't be sure I could look after us."

"And now you're sure?"

"I got a partnership in the law firm I work for." he answered.

"I'd cheer but, it really doesn't mean that much to me. I barely ever got to see you."

"Well now you can see me every day."

"At a cost of my home, my life, my friends. You never even asked if I wanted to move? You didn't take my feelings into consideration. Dad I don't like it here." she groaned miserably and hid her face in her hands. "The girl next door hates me and I don't know very many people here. I'm scared shitless."

"What girl? Riley?"

"I don't know her name but I'm seriously hoping there's only one."

James frowned at his daughter's glum tone. "Why do you think Riley hates you?"

"Um, I think the piss off was a pretty clear indication." she muttered. Then something occurred to her. Riley had been acting like a territorial cat or some kind of animal that got bitchy when someone pissed on their territory. Maybe Riley believed that Tala was her territory and Amber was trespassing. By rights she should clear up that she had no romantic notions about Tala. They'd had a purely platonic relationship as children and Amber hadn't reacted at all to his presence. Not like she had to the blue haired guy, she thought with a blush. Then she cringed. The blue haired guy who was Riley's brother. "Aw crap!"

"Amber?"

"Uh, nothing. Oh hey did you know Tala Valkov lived here when you invited me?"

James smothered a smile but his eyes twinkled and gave him away. She nudged him, smiling reluctantly when he laughed.

"It's going to some getting used to Dad, but I'll give it a shot and you can do the same."

"Give what a shot?"

"Being a Dad." she replied shortly, jumping off the counter and rooting through the cupboards.

James swallowed the lump in his throat. "What are you looking for?"

"Cereal. I have a serious case of the munchies, if it continues I'll be seriously famished and I need something to snack on until you make whatever you're making."

"Irish stew."

Amber faltered. "DAD! I just came from Ireland. Do the American thing and phone for pizza or something. Jeez. At least let me say I've tasted a bit of the culture." she bit back the words 'before I go back home.' In her mind she still hadn't grasped the concept that she'd be living here. It still hadn't sunk in that this wasn't a very weird holiday. Living in America, she thought. God, what the hell was that going to be like? Whatever it was like, she'd cope. Now if only Tala would call. Things might just start looking up.

_**TBC**_

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And so the saga begins...

Review, please!

Midnight Insanity and Zadien


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